Eclipse vs NetBeans

Eclipse vs NetBeans …On which side are you on? Let us know which IDE you think is better and why.

Think of Java IDEs and two names that will come up are Eclipse and NetBeans. I have been using NetBeans for many years now and Eclipse has been a more recent addition to my Java armory. I have enjoyed working with both tools and as such don’t have a clear favorite. I prefer NetBeans a little more than Eclipse as I have been using it longer and am more comfortable with it.

The thing I am most surprised about is how rapidly Eclipse has grown and how it has well and truly eclipsed NetBeans over the past year or so.

In the article: Migrating to Eclipse: A developer’s guide to evaluating Eclipse vs. Netbeans, the author shows the differences between the two IDEs.

Just Eclipse or Eclipse in its WSAD avatar or MyEclipseIDE avatar is definitely good but hey..is it so good that nobody wants to be talk of NetBeans these days??? I haven’t as yet tried out the new NetBeans 4 Beta 2 but I do hope it is very good. So that the competition between Eclipse and NetBeans stays fierce and there is no clear winner.

The end user gets two very good IDEs.

* Apr08 Update – Do have a look at this new comparison of JDeveloper, Eclipse and NetBeans

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258 thoughts on “Eclipse vs NetBeans

  • July 28, 2005 at 3:41 am
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    Until advent of Eclipse 3.0.1 and Netbeans 4.1 I was an eclipse fan.

    Well, I am changing my mind. Recently I had tried Netbeans and I could not believe my eyes. Netbeans did actually make a big leap compared to its own previous versions.

    Instability of Eclipse 3.0.1 makes me crazy and IMHO eclipse getting worse.

    What do you say ?

  • July 27, 2005 at 12:50 pm
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    This has nothing to do with the technical merits of one IDE versus another. Personally I’d rather use Netbeans than Eclipse. But if you’re looking to add one of these IDEs to your skillset then Eclipse is the way to go.

    Pick any job bank such as dice.com, search for ‘Eclipse’ and do a separate search for ‘Netbeans’. You could get over 400 hits for Eclipse and less than 20 for Netbeans – and of that 20 most will include ‘Eclipse’ as well!

    It is clear which word looks better on a Java Developer’s resume.

  • July 27, 2005 at 12:50 pm
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    This has nothing to do with the technical merits of one IDE versus another. Personally I’d rather use Netbeans than Eclipse. But if you’re looking to add one of these IDEs to your skillset then Eclipse is the way to go.

    Pick any job bank such as dice.com, search for ‘Eclipse’ and do a separate search for ‘Netbeans’. You could get over 400 hits for Eclipse and less than 20 for Netbeans – and of that 20 most will include ‘Eclipse’ as well!

    It is clear which word looks better on a Java Developer’s resume.

  • July 12, 2005 at 6:55 pm
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    !! Platform indepedance !!

    SWT is a failed attempt, assuming that java clients only need to work on windows.
    Try running Eclipse on linux or mac. It simply does not work.

    I use netbeans because it is
    – alot faster than Eclipse,
    – provides a much more thoughtful UI experience,
    – more consistently re-uses java standards,
    – doesn’t require you to search for plugins, they all come out-of-the-box,
    – provides integrated profiling support.

    Checkout this article http://www.wever.org/java/space/java/Why+Eclipse+is+not+opensource on
    ‘Why Eclipse is not opensource’.[B]null[/B]

  • July 12, 2005 at 6:55 pm
    Permalink

    !! Platform indepedance !!

    SWT is a failed attempt, assuming that java clients only need to work on windows.
    Try running Eclipse on linux or mac. It simply does not work.

    I use netbeans because it is
    – alot faster than Eclipse,
    – provides a much more thoughtful UI experience,
    – more consistently re-uses java standards,
    – doesn’t require you to search for plugins, they all come out-of-the-box,
    – provides integrated profiling support.

    Checkout this article http://www.wever.org/java/space/java/Why+Eclipse+is+not+opensource on
    ‘Why Eclipse is not opensource’.[B]null[/B]

  • July 12, 2005 at 2:39 am
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    I haven’t used either yet, just re-skilling myself from Powerbuilder. Netbeans seems the best choice for a newbie due to the better docs and installed packages. Plus I Want to make $$$$$ doing downloadable java games for mobile phones. I’ll be keeping an eye on Eclipse for the day job … We also use COBOL, C and Powerbuilder. Plus we need a modelling tool. Having everything under one IDE is nice.

  • July 12, 2005 at 2:39 am
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    I haven’t used either yet, just re-skilling myself from Powerbuilder. Netbeans seems the best choice for a newbie due to the better docs and installed packages. Plus I Want to make $$$$$ doing downloadable java games for mobile phones. I’ll be keeping an eye on Eclipse for the day job … We also use COBOL, C and Powerbuilder. Plus we need a modelling tool. Having everything under one IDE is nice.

  • June 29, 2005 at 12:37 pm
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    i tried netbean 4.1 and i confirm that netbean IDE is a good choice for its following strong points.

    Great UI.
    Speed.
    J2EE support (web services).
    Help is well thought.
    Application development.

    i’am profesional developer but I’am a newbie in java
    and i think netbeans is very easy to use.

  • June 29, 2005 at 12:37 pm
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    i tried netbean 4.1 and i confirm that netbean IDE is a good choice for its following strong points.

    Great UI.
    Speed.
    J2EE support (web services).
    Help is well thought.
    Application development.

    i’am profesional developer but I’am a newbie in java
    and i think netbeans is very easy to use.

  • June 27, 2005 at 11:14 pm
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    I have been using NetBeans and it surely is pleasant to develop any kind of application there. I have given Eclipse a chance several times and I never did stay put with it – no J2EE, plugins are hard to install and are erroneus. OK, Eclipse starts up faster, but NetBeans just seems more user friendly and intuitive to use.

  • June 27, 2005 at 11:14 pm
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    I have been using NetBeans and it surely is pleasant to develop any kind of application there. I have given Eclipse a chance several times and I never did stay put with it – no J2EE, plugins are hard to install and are erroneus. OK, Eclipse starts up faster, but NetBeans just seems more user friendly and intuitive to use.

  • June 14, 2005 at 11:21 pm
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    I’ve been using eclipse for a while, but now I decided to switch to Netbeans because I am tired of eclipse crashing.

  • June 14, 2005 at 11:21 pm
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    I’ve been using eclipse for a while, but now I decided to switch to Netbeans because I am tired of eclipse crashing.

  • May 26, 2005 at 9:00 pm
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    NetBeans is an awesome product, I use both but am very impressed by the painlessness of not having to configure crappy plugins that fall out of synch with the eclipse versions.

  • May 26, 2005 at 9:00 pm
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    NetBeans is an awesome product, I use both but am very impressed by the painlessness of not having to configure crappy plugins that fall out of synch with the eclipse versions.

  • May 24, 2005 at 5:14 pm
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    Just started using netbeans 4.0 – i thought they wouldhave speeded it up from 3.6 – nope. Adde many extras – but speed in development is required or a nice product just is not nice anymore – going to try Eclipse or IDEA

  • May 24, 2005 at 5:14 pm
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    Just started using netbeans 4.0 – i thought they wouldhave speeded it up from 3.6 – nope. Adde many extras – but speed in development is required or a nice product just is not nice anymore – going to try Eclipse or IDEA

  • May 18, 2005 at 3:20 am
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    well I have been using netbeans for a long time now. I believe Netbeans is much better IDE than ECLIPSE. Eclipse is at a primitive state when you compare it with Netbeans when it comes to developing J2EE application. Everything you want to develop you surely have to downlaod a plugin from a third party and it is always a hell to install that. It just doesnot have enough built in plugins. It is surely faster in speed but what am I going to do with that speed if I dont have the features…. 😕 And from Nerbeans 4.1 the UI for netbeans is extreamly well defined and the usablility is much better. It just makes more sense. But with eclipse it is just confusing what IDE do I need Eclipse or Wclipse WebTools whis is a junk product…..
    I would go for Netbeans over eclipse any given day…

  • May 18, 2005 at 3:20 am
    Permalink

    well I have been using netbeans for a long time now. I believe Netbeans is much better IDE than ECLIPSE. Eclipse is at a primitive state when you compare it with Netbeans when it comes to developing J2EE application. Everything you want to develop you surely have to downlaod a plugin from a third party and it is always a hell to install that. It just doesnot have enough built in plugins. It is surely faster in speed but what am I going to do with that speed if I dont have the features…. 😕 And from Nerbeans 4.1 the UI for netbeans is extreamly well defined and the usablility is much better. It just makes more sense. But with eclipse it is just confusing what IDE do I need Eclipse or Wclipse WebTools whis is a junk product…..
    I would go for Netbeans over eclipse any given day…

  • May 13, 2005 at 10:03 am
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    Open Source IDE
    ————————–

    I prefer netbean 4.0 than eclipse 3.0 it really make my development really rapidly develop but in term of coding for design editor take sometimes to understand but dont worry you will get used to it and Everything is there.
    but sometimes i like eclipse since a lot of plugin available but the problem is it’s quiet tedious to find that suitable for you. For Visual editor i think still not stable and for newbies they will hard to understand and manage. Sometimes when i edit in the source view it didn’t sync with visual view and several time it crashed.

    Commercial IDE
    ————————-
    I would prefer IntelliJ IDEA than any commercial IDE i.e JBuilder, JDeveloper
    because it is really easy for newbies and for anybody who like to learn agile java.
    But expensive though.

  • May 13, 2005 at 10:03 am
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    Open Source IDE
    ————————–

    I prefer netbean 4.0 than eclipse 3.0 it really make my development really rapidly develop but in term of coding for design editor take sometimes to understand but dont worry you will get used to it and Everything is there.
    but sometimes i like eclipse since a lot of plugin available but the problem is it’s quiet tedious to find that suitable for you. For Visual editor i think still not stable and for newbies they will hard to understand and manage. Sometimes when i edit in the source view it didn’t sync with visual view and several time it crashed.

    Commercial IDE
    ————————-
    I would prefer IntelliJ IDEA than any commercial IDE i.e JBuilder, JDeveloper
    because it is really easy for newbies and for anybody who like to learn agile java.
    But expensive though.

  • May 12, 2005 at 11:37 pm
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    I wrote this blog entry about 6 months back and then it seemed like Eclipse was beating NetBeans easily.

    A few months later and many beta, RC and finally the 4.1 release of NetBeans yesterday, the tide has turned. I am writing a comment that NetBeans now seems in control.

    It’s good fun observing these IDE wars. I hope they continue this way and nobody comes out an outright winner.

    As I have said in the blog ‘The end user gets two very good IDEs.’

  • May 12, 2005 at 11:37 pm
    Permalink

    I wrote this blog entry about 6 months back and then it seemed like Eclipse was beating NetBeans easily.

    A few months later and many beta, RC and finally the 4.1 release of NetBeans yesterday, the tide has turned. I am writing a comment that NetBeans now seems in control.

    It’s good fun observing these IDE wars. I hope they continue this way and nobody comes out an outright winner.

    As I have said in the blog ‘The end user gets two very good IDEs.’

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